The Alienware m15 is the laptop to get from Dell’s gaming lineup

Best
Alienware laptop
Windows Central
2022

The mid-size Alienware laptop is the best one to get if you’re interested in the company’s gaming notebooks. The latest refresh retains the same design as the past few years, which, while still quite outrageous, is at least pretty slim. But now you get access to the latest and greatest from Intel and NVIDIA, which makes for quite the package.

The Alienware m15 comes packed with 11th or 12th Gen Intel processors or an alternative AMD Ryzen configuration, 8GB or 16GB RAM, up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD, and a powerful NVIDIA RTX GPU, ranging from the 3050 Ti up to the 3070. It has a 15.6-inch 1080p display with up to a 360Hz refresh rate or a QHD panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, and optional NVIDIA G-Sync support too.

Alienware has also included a whole number of ports, including full-size Ethernet, three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI 2.1 output, and a global headset jack. This is the best all-rounder Alienware laptop on our list for sure.

The x15 is Alienware’s first full redesign of its 15-inch gaming laptops in a few years, and it’s branched off as its own model rather than a new m15 because it’s vastly different. The x15 is Alienware’s thinnest, lightest gaming laptop ever, which itself is an achievement as for many years the brand has had very powerful, but quite chunky notebooks.

At the heart is an all-new cooling system that offers up to 25% better thermal performance. This gives you the ability to squeeze huge chunks of power from a smaller space and still ensure the heat is dissipated properly.

The hardware is the latest and greatest Intel and NVIDIA combination, with 11th or 12th Gen Intel processors paired with a range of RTX GPUs from the 3060 up to the new 3080 Ti. RAM goes up to 32GB, and there’s a range of high refresh rate displays at both 1080p and QHD resolutions with NVIDIA G-Sync as well.

The x17 is a big, powerful 17-inch laptop, packing an incredible amount of hardware. A laptop this may be but inside beats the heart of a desktop rig, with the bonus of being able to pack it up and take it on the road.

But part of the x17’s strength is its broad range of specs and prices. At the entry point, you can get an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 with an RTX 3060, and at the top end an RTX 3080 Ti. It’s pricey, but, also one of the thinnest and most powerful 17-inch laptops you’ll find. Oh, and a 4K display no longer means 60Hz, with a 120Hz refresh rate making it actually good for gaming with, too.

The x17 is visually very similar to the x15, and it seems to be Alienware’s new design direction after years of aggressive, but chunky hardware. What makes or breaks it is the size and the hardware options, with mind-blowing possibilities for a laptop possible. Up to 4TB of storage in RAID 0 can be had, as well as up to 64GB of RAM.

The x17 also has CHERRY’s low-profile but full-on mechanical keyboard switches bringing a tactile feel wherever you go, a first on a laptop of this class. Or you can stick with Alienware’s regular keyboard.

The bottom line

Alienware makes some of the best gaming laptops, but the Alienware m15 R6 gets the edge for being more affordable and more portable than its larger sibling while offering almost identical hardware specs.

Alienware design has always been pretty out there. But this has evolved over the years, and importantly, the days of thick, super-heavy gaming laptops are now behind us. The m15 R6 is sleek, sophisticated, and incredibly powerful.

Gaming is its bread and butter, but it’s also a viable choice for creators, too. And the entry-level model represents excellent value, with solid performance at a more wallet-friendly price.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide